Collapsible bassinet



April 9, 1940. J. A. MAHR COLLAPSIBLE BASSINET Filed Sept. 1,- 1938 n 1 i Mi Patented Apr. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES coLLAPsrBLE BASSINET Julius A. Mahr, Minneapolis, Minn.,- assignorv to Inventors Patent .Holding Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of South Dakota Application September 1, 1938, Serial No. 227,899

6 Claims.

My present invention relates to a bassinet adapted to be removably suspended from body supports on the chassis frame of a baby carriage, within an automobile or the like andmore particularly the invention relates to collapsible bassinets.

It is an object of this invention to provide means for preventing the body of a collapsible bassinet from collapsing when removed from its suspending support and placed on the floor or other support or when being carried for instance under the arm.

Other objects of the invention willhereinafter appear.

To the above end, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring-to the drawing: 1

Fig. 1 is a viewfin side elevation showing a collapsible bassinet spring suspended from the chassis of a baby carriage, said chassis and the hood of the bassinet being diagrammatically illustrated by means of broken lines;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation,von an enlarged scale of the body of the bassinet removed from the chassis and with its apron collapsed within the lower frame of the body, some parts of said body being broken away and sectioned;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2 but showing the body collapsed; i

Fig. 4 is a detail view with some parts sectioned on the line 4-4 of Fig.2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view with a part thereof sectioned on the line 5-5 of Fig. The numeral 6 indicates the body of a collapsible bassinet the sides and ends of said body being made from any suitable flexible material, such as heavy cloth. An endless metallic frame member 1 is held in a hem on the appendage portion of the body 6 and holds the respective portions of said body to form.

The bottom 8 of the body 6, as shown, is made from any suitable flexible material and has in its marginal edge portion, a hem in which is held an frame member 9 holds the bottom portion of the body 6 to form and its weight also holds the body 6 stretched taut from the frame member 6 when the bassinet is held suspended. When the body 6 is collapsed its frame member 9 snugly fits within the frame member 1.

It may be here stated that in some instances it might be desirable to make the bottom 8 rigid, for instance of wood, and in which case the same will take the place of the frame member 9.

The sides and ends of the body 6 are extended below the bottom 8 to afford an apron I9 having in its lower" edge portion a hem in which is held an endless metallic frame member H. The frame member I! holds the lower portion of the'apron ID to form, draws the same taut from the frame member 9 and when the apron I8 is collapsed fits within said frame member 9 when the body 6 is placed on the floor or other support.

The hood l2 of the bassinet is diagrammatically shown by means of broken lines, see Fig. 1. k In Fig. 1, the bassinet is shown spring suspended from hooks l3 secured to the front and rear body supports I 4 on the frame of the chassis l5.

Spring stabilizer it connects the frame member H to the frame of the chassis l5 and holds the bassinet against excessive lateral and endwise movement. A handle bar I 1 is secured to the rear body support l4. v v

To each end of the body 6 is secured a pressed metal handle l8. As shown the upper edge portions of the handles are rolled over the upper edge of the body 6 and secured to the frame member I by rivets l9.

The parts thus far described have been shown simply for the embodiment of the invention therein.

Referring now in detail to the invention, the frame members 1 and 9 at each end of the body 6 are held spaced apart by a novel brace to prevent said body from collapsingwhen removed from its suspending means and placed on-the floor or other support.

As the brace at the two ends of the body 6 are identical the one with the other, the description of the one will suffice for the other.

Each brace is H-shaped and the upright members thereof are toggle joints 20, the upper and lower bars of which are indicated by the numerals 2| and 22, respectively, and the pivots connecting said bars are indicated by the numeral 23.

The upper end portions of the bars 2| extend between the body and the respective handle [8 and are connected to said handle by rivets 24. Obviously the handles l8 indirectly connect the toggle joints 29 to the frame members I. Pivots 25 connect bars 22, at the lower ends to the frame member 9. The toggle joints 20 as they are pressed edgewise toward each other to straighten the same, force the frame members I and 9 apart, thereby stretching the flexible body 6 taut therebetween. To buckle the toggle joints 20 they are pulled edgewise apart and thereby draw the frame members I and 9 toward each other and collapse the body 6.

To positively hold the toggle joints 2!] against accidental buckling movement and thereby collapse the body 6 the brace is provided with a pair of stops 28 and a latch 21. The stops 26 and latch 21 are formed by extending the inner end portions of the bars 22 above the pivots 23. It will be noted that the bars 22 underlap the bars 22, are offset away from each other and then bent laterally outward to form the stops 26 and then folded upon themselves outward of the bars 22 and toward each other into overlapping arrangement to form members 28 and 29 of the latch 21. These latch members 28 and 29 form the transverse portion of the H-shaped brace.

The latch 21 further includes a detent 30 and I a cooperating socket 3|, the former being on the latch member 28 and the latter on the latch member 29.

Relative lateral springing movement of the latch members 28 and 29, away from each other, will withdraw the detent 30 from the socket 3| and thereby open the latch 29 and permit the toggle joints 2D to be buckled to collapse the body 6.

Obviously the H-shaped braces positively hold the frame members 1 and 9 against movement toward each other and also positively hold said frame members against relative angular movement. The pairs of bars 2| and 22 which diverge from the stops 26 naturally add to the rigidity of the brace.

The spring suspension of the bassinet from the body supports I4 is pairs of springs 32 secured to the handles l8 and releasably connected to the hooks l3.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the invention described is capable of various modifications within the scope of the invention herein disclosed.

What I claim is:

1. A collapsible body of the kind described having upper and lower frame members, a pair of toggle joints at each end of the body connecting the two frame members and normally holding the same against movement toward each other, the inner end portion of one of the bars of each toggle joint being shaped to form a stop for the other bar of the respective toggle joint, the inner end portions of the bars, having the stops, being extended between the toggle joints and separably connected to afford a latch, said stops and latch normally holding the toggle joints from buckling in either direction.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the latch members overlap the one with the other, one of said latch members having a detent and the other thereof a socket for the detent, said detent being removable from the socket by relative lateral springing movement of the latch members. i

3. A collapsible body of the kind described having upper and lower frame members, and releasable H-shaped braces normally holding the frame members spaced apart and against movement toward each other, the upright members of each brace being toggle-joints and the transverse member thereof being a latch that releasably connects the said toggle-joints.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 in which each brace includes a pair of stops which together with the latch hold the toggle-joints against buckling movement in either direction.

5. The structure defined in claim 3 in which each brace includes a pair of stops which together with the latch hold the toggle-joints against buckling movement in either direction, said stops positioning the bars of the toggle joints with their connecting pivots beyond dead centers and toward each other.

6. The structure defined in claim 3 in which each brace includes a pair of stops which together with the latch hold the toggle joints against buckling movement in either direction, said stops and latch being formed by the inner end portions of one of the bars of each of the two toggle joints.

JULIUS A. MAI-1R. 

